Gyotaku Fish Impressions: The Art of Japanese Fish Printing [Paperback]

Doug Olander (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Frank Amato Pubns; First edition (August 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878175831
• ISBN-13: 978-1878175830
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #812,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars lots of gorgeous prints, very little technical info, February 28, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gyotaku Fish Impressions: The Art of Japanese Fish Printing (Paperback)

If you are looking for technical information regarding gyotaku, this book will not help you much at all. In that case, you will be much better served by considering Bethmann's "Nature Printing with Herbs, Fruits & Flowers" which has a small gyotaku section. If you are looking for examples of artistic presentation of gyotaku prints, this book provides 53 color plates of fish prints done by the author. That's not what I was looking for (sigh).

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a western perspective on a japanese technique, September 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Gyotaku Fish Impressions: The Art of Japanese Fish Printing (Paperback)

A beautiful book. I picked up this book out of curiosity and was impressed by the quality of the prints themselves. It made me want to go out and print some fish myself. My only complaint is that I wanted to see some more detailed writing on technique, though his comentary (on each print) in terms of the different breeds and catching of the fish involved was entertaining and disarmingly free of pretentions.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fish Rubbings Extraordinaire, December 12, 1999

By 

David Miller (Tolland, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gyotaku Fish Impressions: The Art of Japanese Fish Printing (Paperback)

It was quite by accident that I stumbled upon this gem, for I am neither an angler nor an artist. Noted outdoor writer, Doug Olander, has assembled a most extraordinary collection of unusual artwork--the product of his hobby which is an artform from Japan that I had never encountered called Gyotaku. Basically, these are "fish rubbings" on rice paper. But that description comes nowhere close to revealing the brilliance and magic of this artform that Olander is now making very accessible to the Western world. He thoroughly describes the art process and then offers a description of each of the 53 large plates (1 per page) composing the remainder of the book. The descriptions are informative and do not assume any particular expertise with fish or fishing (e.g., both common and scientific names are provided throughout). The plates themselves are absolutely gorgeous--all with the most vibrant colors. Many open up doors to some of the most exotic sea creatures I have ever seen--something that is all the more amazing when one considers how these prints are actually made (I won't give away the "secrets" here.) Happily, these prints are available for purchase from the author. (I now have one hanging in my den.) If you are looking for something that is both unusual and intriguingly artistic, you cannot go wrong by grabbing a copy of this book. I'll bet anything that you, too, will be "hooked."